Missed It: Canadian Book Distributor Declares Bankruptcy

Bryan Munn over the Canadian-focused web site Sequential caught a big story in the National Post late last week that completely escaped by attention: the Canadian distributor HB Fenn and Company has initiated bankruptcy proceedings after 33 years. They are Canada's largest book distributor and handled Marvel, NBM, and MacMillan (meaning First Second). Munn says they distribute Yen Press as well, and while I have no real reason not to believe this I'm also not sure why they wouldn't be handled by Hachette's Canadian distribution endeavors. Although I'm completely unfamiliar with Canadian bankruptcy law -- bankruptcy law generally -- the Post article makes it sound as if this is a bankruptcy of the "we will no longer be doing business" variety as opposed to the "we need to sort things out" variety.

This article in Quill & Quire suggests that Raincoast will likely pick up a bunch of business and that companies like MacMillan will bridge the gap by increasing the number of books available through their wholesale accounts. This article provides a bunch of context, including the two grievous earlier steps: Hachette's move away from the company two years ago and the shuttering of their publishing efforts months back.

While I'm sure there's a scramble to arrange for serviced booksellers to get book and for these companies to find a new entry point into Canada, I don't see any of the imprints or publishers as particularly vulnerable to disrupted business right now -- no one's released their book of the year into this tornado of setbacks, for instance. My hunch is that this story in terms of comics-related news is less about the actual damage caused but as one more sign of the relatie fragility of the bookstore market and many of its major players.
 
posted 6:00 am PST | Permalink
 

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